The Asus MG279Q ($599) is a 27-inch gaming monitor that combines AMD's FreeSync anti-tearing technology and a 144Hz refresh rate to provide ultra-smooth gaming action. It uses an In-Plane Switching (IPS) panel to deliver good gray-scale and viewing-angle performance and is equipped with four digital video inputs, a handful of USB 3.0 ports, and numerous gaming features. Its WQHD (2,560-by-1,440) resolution offers a very sharp hi-res picture, but its colors aren't as accurate as those of our Editors' Choice for big-screen gaming monitors, the same-price BenQ XL2730Z.

FreeSync TechnologyFreeSync is AMD's answer to Nvidia's G-Sync anti-tearing and smoothing technology. Both take control of the monitor's refresh rates to eliminate screen tearing, an artifact that occurs when a monitor with a fixed refresh rate tries to keep up with the graphics card. Tearing causes a split screen effect as the monitor displays portions of two frames at the same time. Both corrective technologies also reduce motion chop and input lag (the time it takes for the monitor to react to a controller command). Whereas G-Sync monitors contain a proprietary module that allows the GPU to handle refresh rates, FreeSync monitors utilize DisplayPort Adaptive-Sync, an industry standard method of controlling a monitor's refresh rate via the DisplayPort 1.2 input. In order to take advantage of FreeSync, you' need a monitor that supports DisplayPort Adaptive-Sync, an AMD Radeon graphics card in your PC that supports FreeSync, and AMD's Catalyst Control Center software and drivers.

Design and FeaturesThe MG279Q lacks the edgy aesthetics of the BenQ XL2730Z and Acer Predator X34 models, but is a nice looking monitor nevertheless. It has a black, 2.5-inch-thick cabinet with thin (0.4-inch) bezels and a matte, anti-glare coating. The cabinet has four VESA mounting holes and is supported by a wedge-shaped base and mounting arm that provides 5.9 inches of height, 25 degrees of tilt, 120 degrees of swivel, and 90 degrees of pivot adjustability.

All of the MG279Q's I/O ports are located at the rear of the cabinet. Here you find two HDMI/MHL inputs, one full size DisplayPort input, one mini DisplayPort input, an upstream USB 3.0 port, two downstream USB 3.0 ports, and a headphone jack. While it's nice having four digital inputs, a couple of legacy ports like the VGA and DVI ports included on the BenQ XL2730Z would be nice. The MG279Q does have a pair of embedded 2-watt speakers, but they are woefully underpowered and sound tinny.

The right side of the cabinet is home to four function buttons, a Power button, and a five-way jog dial that makes it easy to navigate the settings menus. The GameVisual settings are actually optimized picture presets and include Scenery, Racing, Cinema, RTS/RPG (Real-Time Strategy/Role-Playing Game), FPS (First Person Shooter), and sRGB modes. In addition to Brightness and Contrast settings, there are five Blue Light Filter settings (including Off) to help reduce eye strain, three Skin Tone settings (Reddish, Natural, and Yellowish), and four Color Temperature settings (Cool, Normal, Warm, and User). There's also an ECO mode that dims the panel brightness to conserve power.

In addition to the GameVisual settings, the MG279Q features Asus's GamePlus technology which offers four different crosshair aiming overlays and an in-game timer for keeping track of things like re-spawn times and overall gameplay times. Other settings include TraceFree (speeds up pixel response), VividPixel (enhances standard definition images), and ASCR (dynamic contrast).

Asus covers the MG279Q with a three-year warranty on parts, labor, and backlight. Included in the box are a Quick Start Guide, a mini DisplayPort cable, an HDMI cable, and an upstream USB cable.

PerformanceWhen it comes to gaming, the MG279Q is an excellent performer. On my PC gaming Crysis 3 tests, its 144Hz refresh rate and 4 millisecond (gray-to-gray) pixel response provided very smooth motion handling with no noticeable ghosting or blurring. Results were identical on the Grant Theft Auto V tests on my Sony Playstation 4. Colors appeared rich, and image detail was outstanding.

Rich colors notwithstanding, the MG279Q's color accuracy was slightly off kilter. As shown on the chromaticity chart below, red and green colors (represented by the colored dots) miss their ideal targets (represented by the boxes) and blue is on the fringe. Fortunately, there was no evidence of tinting or oversaturated colors as a result. The IPS panel had no trouble displaying every shade of gray on the DisplayMate 64-Step Gray-Scale test and showed no loss of luminance or color shifting when viewed from an extreme angle.

Even though the MG279Q aced our gaming tests, it still benefited from AMD's FreeSync technology. With FreeSync disabled, screen tearing was not an issue in my Crysis 3 and Call of Duty: Black Ops testing, but fast action scenes appeared a bit smoother and sharper with FreeSync enabled. The panel's 27.4-millisecond input lag is decent and likely won't affect your gameplay, but it can't match the BenQ XL2430T's short lag time of 9.5 milliseconds.

The MG279Q drew 37 watts of power in testing when set to sRGB mode. That's in line with the Acer K272HUL (38 watts) and a bit more efficient than the BenQ XL2730Z (42 watts). With ECO mode enabled, the MG279Q used 28 watts, while the Acer K272HUL used 30 watts. The BenQ XL2730Z does not offer a power-saving ECO mode.

Conclusion The Asus MG279Q is a solid choice for gamers who prefer the wide viewing angles and rich colors that you get with an IPS panel. The 2,560-by-1,440 resolution panel delivers sharp image detail and a very smooth gaming experience, and the ergonomic stand provides an optimal viewing angle. Color accuracy is a bit off, but not to the point where the picture appears oversaturated. If color accuracy is a deal breaker, check out our Editors' Choice big-screen gaming monitor, the BenQ XL2730z. While its 27-inch Twisted Nematic (TN) panel doesn't deliver the wide viewing angles that you get with the MG279Q, it offers truer colors and a wider variety of video inputs, and it, too, uses FreeSync technology.

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About the Author

As a Contributing Editor for PCMag, John Delaney has been testing and reviewing monitors, TVs, PCs, networking and smart home gear, and other assorted hardware and peripherals for almost 20 years. A 13-year veteran of PC Magazine's Labs (most recently as Director of Operations), John was responsible for the recruitment, training and management of t... See Full Bio

Asus MG279Q

Asus MG279Q

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